Information processing device, information processing method and program

ABSTRACT

An information processing device includes a control unit that executes: acquiring information indicating an environment surrounding a place where a plurality of movable objects is disposed, the plurality of movable objects including display units that display a picture to configure an external appearance; deciding a display content of the picture to be displayed by the display units included in the plurality of movable objects, depending on the information indicating the environment surrounding the place; and giving an instruction to cause the display units to display the picture having the decided display content, to the plurality of movable objects disposed at an area surrounding the place.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-005946 filed onJan. 17, 2019 including the specification, drawings and abstract isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The disclosure relates to an information processing device, aninformation processing method and a program for a system that managesthe external appearance of a movable object having multiple functions.

2. Description of Related Art

In recent years, there has been performed a research for providingservices with multiple functions of a movable object such as a vehiclethat can perform autonomous traveling. For example, there can be a formin which the space in the movable object such as the vehicle that canperform autonomous traveling has not only a function for movement ofpeople or goods but also a function as a shop that sells a product orprovides a labor service. For example, in the case where the vehicle orthe like functions as a movable shop, it is conceivable to provide adisplay device on an outer wall of a vehicle body, and to change theexterior decoration (external appearance) of the shop by changing thecontent to be displayed by the display device depending on the contentof the product sale or labor service by the shop. Japanese PatentApplication Publication No. 2016-65938 discloses a technology in which avehicle including a display device causes the display device to displayan advertisement corresponding to a peripheral environment of thevehicle.

It is also conceivable to construct a movable market that deals withdaily commodities, sundry articles, foodstuffs and the like, using aplurality of movable objects such as vehicles that function as shops.The movable market is periodically operated on a previously decidedroute, or is periodically formed at a previously permitted place or thelike, allowing provision of a shopping support service withconsideration for movement burden of a utilizing person.

SUMMARY

In the case where a plurality of movable objects such as vehicles isassembled, it is desirable that presentations of the externalappearances of vehicles or the like are unified as a whole, instead ofbeing individually performed. Hence, the disclosure has an object toprovide a technology for unifying the external appearances of aplurality of assembled movable objects.

An exemplary aspect of the disclosure is an information processingdevice. The information processing device includes a control unit thatexecutes: acquiring information indicating an environment surrounding aplace where a plurality of movable objects is disposed, the plurality ofmovable objects including display units that display a picture toconfigure an external appearance; deciding a display content of thepicture to be displayed by the display units included in the pluralityof movable objects, depending on the information indicating theenvironment surrounding the place; and giving an instruction to causethe display units to display the picture having the decided displaycontent, to the plurality of movable objects disposed at an areasurrounding the place.

Another exemplary aspect of the disclosure is an information processingmethod. The disclosure may be an information processing methodincluding: acquiring information indicating an environment surrounding aplace where a plurality of movable objects is disposed, the plurality ofmovable objects including display units that display a picture toconfigure an external appearance; deciding a display content of thepicture to be displayed by the display units included in the pluralityof movable objects, depending on the information indicating theenvironment surrounding the place; and giving an instruction to causethe display units to display the picture having the decided displaycontent, to the plurality of movable objects disposed at an areasurrounding the place.

Another exemplary aspect of the disclosure is a program that is executedby a computer. The disclosure may be a program that causes a computer toexecute: acquiring information indicating an environment surrounding aplace where a plurality of movable objects is disposed, the plurality ofmovable objects including display units that display a picture toconfigure an external appearance; deciding a display content of thepicture to be displayed by the display units included in the pluralityof movable objects, depending on the information indicating theenvironment surrounding the place; and giving an instruction to causethe display units to display the picture having the decided displaycontent, to the plurality of movable objects disposed at an areasurrounding the place, or the disclosure may be a computer-readablestorage medium in which the program is stored in a non-transitorymanner.

With the disclosure, it is possible to provide a technology for unifyingthe external appearances of a plurality of assembled movable objects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance ofexemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denotelike elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of adisplay management system according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the external appearance of ashop vehicle;

FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing selection of picture data;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration ofa center server;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of vehicle information that isstored in a vehicle management DB;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration ofthe shop vehicle;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration ofa management server;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of shop vehicle information thatis stored in a shop vehicle management DB;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display manner of thepicture data;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of environment information thatis stored in an environment information DB;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of picture information that isstored in a display data management DB;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of an acquisition process forthe environment information and user tendency information by the shopvehicle;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of a picture display processby the shop vehicle;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of an acquisition process forthe environment information and the user tendency information;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of a selection process for adisplay content of the picture data;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing an example of a selection process for thedisplay content of the picture data that corresponds to the usertendency information;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of a sending process for thepicture data;

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of adisplay management system according to a second modification; and

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration ofa shop vehicle that functions as a leader vehicle in the secondmodification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A display management server according to an embodiment is an informationprocessing device in a system that manages picture data for configuringan external appearance, for a plurality of movable objects that includesdisplay devices for configuring the exterior decoration (externalappearance) on an outer wall and the like of a vehicle body, that canperform autonomous traveling, and that has multiple functions. Examplesof the movable object include a shop vehicle that includes a facility,equipment or the like for business and that sells a product or providesa labor service. It can be said that a user of the shop vehicle is autilizing person of the service provided by the shop vehicle or aconsumer of the product or the like sold by the shop vehicle.

The display management server according to the embodiment is configuredto acquire information indicating an environment surrounding a placewhere a plurality of movable objects is disposed. The movable objectsinclude display units that display a picture to configure the externalappearance. The information indicating the environment includes the kindof the place where the plurality of movable objects is disposed, a sceneshowing an atmosphere surrounding the place, a meteorological conditionsuch as weather, air temperature and humidity, a brightness, and thelike. As the kind of the place, there are a mountainous section and anurban section.

Further, the display management server is configured to decide a displaycontent of the picture to be displayed by the display units included inthe plurality of movable objects, depending on the informationindicating the environment surrounding the place, and to give aninstruction to cause the display units to display the picture having thedecided display content, to the plurality of movable objects disposed atan area surrounding the place.

The environment surrounding the place where the plurality of movableobjects is disposed can be acquired from sensor information detectedthrough a sensor group including a camera, a thermo-hygro sensor and anilluminance sensor that are mounted on each movable object. Further, thedisplay management server can identify the place where the movableobjects are disposed, from position information indicating the positionsof the movable objects, and can acquire information indicating theenvironment surrounding the place, based on the identified place. Thedisplay content includes a designation of a content to be displayed bythe picture, a designation of a color tone, a designation of a displayconfiguration, a designation of a brightness when the picture isdisplayed.

Because of such a configuration, the display management server canperform a control such that the plurality of assembled movable objectskeeps a unified external appearance, based on the picture data with thedisplay content corresponding to the environment surrounding the placewhere the plurality of movable objects is disposed.

An embodiment will be described below, with reference to the drawings. Aconfiguration of the embodiment described below is an example, and modesfor carrying out the disclosure are not limited to the configuration ofthe embodiment described below.

First Embodiment

Outline of System

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of adisplay management system 1 according to a first embodiment. The displaymanagement system 1 in FIG. 1 functions as a part of a movable objectsystem that provides services by using multiple functions of the movableobject such as the vehicle that can perform the autonomous traveling, oras a complementary system that cooperates with the movable objectsystem.

First, an outline of the movable object system will be described. Forexample, the movable object system is configured to include a pluralityof movable objects (V #1 to V #n) such as a vehicle that can perform theautonomous traveling on a road based on a given command, and a centerserver 10 that issues the command. Each movable object provides mobilityservices such as a user movement, a parcel transport, a product sale anda labor service, depending on various needs of a utilizing person(hereinafter, also referred to as a “user”). Each movable object and thecenter server 10 are connected with each other through a network N1.Hereinafter, the movable object such as the vehicle that can perform theautonomous traveling is also referred to as merely a “vehicle”, and theplurality of movable objects (V #1 to V #n) is also collectivelyreferred to as a “vehicle V”.

As the vehicle V, for example, there is a self-propelled electricallydriven vehicle that is called an electric vehicle (EV) pallet. However,the vehicle V may be a gasoline vehicle, a diesel vehicle, or a vehiclethat is operated by electric power supplied from a fuel cell usinghydrogen and the like. The vehicle V is a multipurpose movable objectthat allows change in exterior decoration and interior decoration of thevehicle V and selection of an arbitrary vehicle size depending on usageand purpose of the mobility service to be provided. The center server 10is a device that manages a plurality of vehicles V constituting themovable object system, and gives an operation command to the vehicles V.

For example, the network N1 is a public network such as the Internet.The network N1 may include a wireless communication such as WiFi®, awireless network including a mobile telephone network such as LTE,LTE-Advanced and 3G, a dedicated network such as a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), and a network such as a local area network (LAN). Adisplay management server 30 (hereinafter, also referred to as merely a“management server 30”) constituting the display management system 1according to the embodiment is connected to the network N1. In FIG. 1,one center server 10, one management server 30 and a plurality ofvehicles (V #1 to V #n) are representatively illustrated. A plurality ofcenter servers 10 and a plurality of management servers 30 can beconnected to the network N1.

In the movable object system to which the display management system 1according to the embodiment is applied, the vehicle V functions as ashop vehicle that sells a product or provides a labor service(hereinafter, the vehicle V that functions as a shop is also referred toas a “shop vehicle 20”). For example, the shop vehicle 20 includes afacility, equipment or the like for shop business, within the vehicle.As shown by a broken-line rectangular box in FIG. 1, the shop vehicles20 periodically operate on a previously decided route in an urbansection or a predetermined region, or periodically assemble at apreviously permitted place or the like, and thereby, constitute amovable market that deals with daily commodities, sundry articles,foodstuffs and the like. For example, the movable market can integrallyprovide different types of services, and can provide a shopping supportservice with consideration for movement burden of the user.

A destination where the shop vehicles 20 assemble may include a road,and a shop (a movable shop other than the vehicle V or a fixed shop)other than the shop vehicle 20 may be included. The shop vehicle 20 doesnot always need to be an unmanned vehicle, and a sales staff, a servicestaff, a security staff or the like that sells the product dealt with bythe shop vehicle 20 or provides the labor service to the user that usesthe service may ride on the shop vehicle 20. Further, the shop vehicle20 does not always need to be a vehicle that constantly performs theautonomous traveling. For example, depending on a situation, the staffmay drive, or may assist driving.

The shop vehicle 20 includes display devices for configuring theexterior decoration (external appearance), on outer walls and the likeof the vehicle body. Then, the display management system 1 according tothe embodiment manages picture data to be displayed on the displaydevices provided on the outer walls and the like of the shop vehicle 20,and displays the picture data such that the plurality of movable objectsconstituting the movable market keeps a unified external appearance.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the external appearance of theshop vehicle 20 according to the embodiment. As shown by referencecharacters A to E in FIG. 2, the outer walls of the vehicle bodyconstituting the shop vehicle 20 are provided with vehicle-outsidedisplay devices that can output arbitrary pictures for configuring theexternal appearance. In FIG. 2, as shown by an outlined arrow Z1, avehicle direction indicating the orientation of the shop vehicle 20 is adirection of the side facing a vehicle-outside display device A providedon the rear side of the shop vehicle 20.

The vehicle-outside display device may be a liquid crystal display(LCD), or may be an organic electro-luminescence (EL) display. Thevehicle-outside display may be constituted using a light emitting diode(LED) matrix, a projector that projects a picture on a window glass ofthe shop vehicle 20, or the like. The shop vehicle 20 including thevehicle-outside display devices on the outer walls can change theexternal appearance of the shop vehicle 20, for example, by switchingthe picture to be displayed on the display devices, or the displaycontent such as a color tone, an atmosphere or a brightness.Hereinafter, the vehicle-outside display device provided on the shopvehicle 20 is also referred to as a “display unit”.

The display management system 1 according to the embodiment includes themanagement server 30 that manages the picture data to be displayed bythe vehicle-outside display devices provided on the outer walls and thelike of the shop vehicle 20. The picture data, to which identificationinformation (picture ID) for uniquely identifying the picture data isgiven, is held in a database. The management server 30 according to theembodiment acquires environment information relevant to an environmentsurrounding the place where the plurality of shop vehicles 20 isdisposed for integrally providing different types of services in themovable market.

Here, examples of the environment information include informationindicating the kind (an urban section, a residential section, amountainous section, a coastal section or the like) of the place wherethe plurality of shop vehicles 20 is positioned. The environmentinformation may include a scene (landscape) of the place where theplurality of shop vehicles 20 is disposed, a meteorological condition, abrightness, or the like.

The management server 30 refers to the picture data held in thedatabase, and identifies the picture data with the display contentcorresponding to the environment information surrounding the place wherethe plurality of shop vehicles 20 is disposed for providing the integralservice in the movable market.

The picture data to be identified may be an identical kind of picturedata that is displayed by the plurality of shop vehicles 20 in common,or may be multiple kinds of picture data that have a relevance and thatare respectively displayed by the plurality of shop vehicles 20 suchthat the plurality of shop vehicles 20 keeps a unity sense. Examples ofthe picture data having a relevance include a series of three kinds ofpicture data under the theme of cherry blossom viewing, as exemplifiedby “cherry blossom tree”, “cherry blossom petals” and “multi-tiered foodbox with fluttering cherry blossom petals”. Further, examples of thepicture data having a relevance include picture data about anillustrated story (for example, a set of Heian pictures) divided intomultiple kinds of partial data. The shop vehicles 20 each of whichdisplays the partial data are arrayed in a division order, and thereby,the external appearances of the shop vehicles 20 can be controlled so asto configure a single illustrated story as a whole.

The management server 30 gives an instruction to display the picturedata with the display content identified depending on the environmentsurrounding the place where the movable market is formed, to theplurality of shop vehicles 20 disposed at the place. The shop vehiclescause the respective display units (vehicle-outside display devices) todisplay the picture data with the display content instructed from themanagement server 30, and thereby, can unify the external appearances toan external appearance corresponding to the environment surrounding theplace where the movable market is disposed. The display managementsystem 1 according to the embodiment can provide a technology forkeeping a unified external appearance at the place where the pluralityof shop vehicles 20 is disposed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for describing selection of picture data. In FIG. 3,for example, the plurality of shop vehicles 20 periodically operatesalong routes R1, R2 shown by broken line arrows. For example, places a1,a2, a3, a4 positioned along the routes R1, R2 are areas at which themovable market is previously permitted to be disposed. For example, theplurality of shop vehicles 20 goes round along the routes R1, R2 in arow, and moves to each area. As shown in a broken-line balloon, in eacharea, the plurality of shop vehicles 20 that sells products such asdaily commodities, sundry articles and foodstuffs is disposed, and themovable market that integrally provides different types of services tothe user is configured. Here, a form shown in the broken-line balloon inFIG. 3 is an exemplary form in which five shop vehicles (20 a to 20 e)are disposed (arranged) in a U-form. In the shop vehicles disposed in aU-form, for example, the shop vehicle 20 a sells fruits as the product,and the shop vehicle 20 e sells vegetables. Further, for example, theshop vehicle 20 b and the shop vehicle 20 d, which include refrigeratingequipment, sell meats and seafood, respectively. For example, the shopvehicle 20 c sells daily sundry articles such as sanitary goods andhousehold daily commodities.

For example, the management server 30 acquires the environmentinformation relevant to the environment when the plurality of shopvehicles 20 operates along the routes R1, R2, or the environmentsurrounding the place (a1 to a4) where the plurality of shop vehicles 20is disposed. For example, as the environment information, the managementserver 30 acquires information that is relevant to an area where theplurality of shop vehicles 20 operates or an area where the plurality ofshop vehicles 20 is disposed, and that indicates the kind of the place,as exemplified by the urban section, the residential section, themountainous section and the coastal section. Further, as the environmentinformation, the management server 30 acquires information indicatingthe scene, meteorological condition, brightness and others of the areawhere the plurality of shop vehicles 20 operates or the area where theplurality of shop vehicles 20 is disposed. Here, as the environmentinformation, the management server 30 may acquire information indicatinga disposition form (a relative arrangement relation among the shopvehicles) in the area where the plurality of shop vehicles 20 isdisposed.

For example, as described later, the environment information is acquiredas a camera picture picked up by a sensor such as a camera that ismounted on the shop vehicle 20 or as sensor information detected by asensor that detects another physical quantity. However, the managementserver 30 may identify the area where the plurality of shop vehicles 20operates or the area where the plurality of shop vehicles 20 isdisposed, based on position information such as a latitude, a longitudeand the like sent from the shop vehicles 20 periodically or in responseto a demand from the management server 30, and may acquire theenvironment information indicating the environment surrounding the placewhere the plurality of shop vehicles 20 is disposed. For example, byreferring to map data or the like, the management server 30 can identifythe environment information indicating the kind of the place, from theposition information about the area where the plurality of shop vehicles20 operates or the area where the plurality of shop vehicles 20 isdisposed. For example, the position information may includeidentification information (for example, a link number) about a road onwhich the shop vehicles 20 plan to travel, identification information(for example, a node number) about an intersection or the like, anaddress, and the like.

For example, the management server 30 may acquire a camera picture to beobtained by photographing the surrounding of the place identified basedon the position information, from a service site on the network N1 thatprovides the camera picture. Based on the camera picture, the managementserver 30 can estimate the environment information about the area wherethe plurality of shop vehicles 20 operates or the area where theplurality of shop vehicles 20 is disposed. The environment informationincludes the kind of the place, as exemplified by the urban section, theresidential section, the mountainous section and the coastal section,and includes the scene, the weather condition and the like. Themanagement server 30 may acquire the environment information indicatingthe meteorological condition surrounding the place identified by theposition information, from a service site on the network N1 thatprovides meteorological information. The meteorological conditionincludes a weather, an air temperature, a humidity, a wind direction, awind speed and the like. Then, based on the acquired environmentinformation, the management server 30 selects the picture data with thedisplay content corresponding to the environment information, forconfiguring a unified external appearance of the plurality of shopvehicles 20.

In FIG. 3, it is assumed that the kinds of the places a1, a2, a3, a4 area residential section, an urban section, a mountainous section and acoastal section, respectively. As the picture data to configure theexternal appearance of the plurality of shop vehicles 20 disposed at theplace a1, for example, the management server 30 can select an identicalkind of or relevant kinds of picture data with a display content inwhich play equipment provided in a park, a decoration for a party, orthe like is adopted as a motif. At the place a2 that is an urbansection, for example, the management server 30 selects an identical kindof or relevant kinds of picture data with a display content in which atree, a fountain or the like is adopted as a motif and healing at anoasis or the like is evoked. At the place a3 that is a mountainoussection, for example, the management server 30 selects an identical kindof or relevant kinds of picture data with a display content in which thecolor tone of the landscape acquired as the environment information isadopted as a base, or with a display content in which a festival, anillustrated story or the like corresponding to the season is adopted asa motif. At the place a4 that is a coastal section, for example, themanagement server 30 selects an identical kind of or relevant kinds ofpicture data with a display content in which the sea, a sandy beach, acloud floating in the fine sky, a seabird or the like is adopted as amotif and freshness is evoked.

For example, the picture data may be controlled such that the degree ofa display element such as the color tone (color hue), the atmosphere(color scheme), the brightness (luminance and the like) for display isincreased or decreased depending on the meteorological condition, thebrightness (illuminance), or the like. For example, the picture datawith a checkered pattern can be controlled in the summer season suchthat a combination of cold colors such as blue and white is selected andemphasized, and can be controlled in the winter season such that acombination of warm colors such as orange and brown is selected andemphasized. Furthermore, the picture data can be controlled such thatthe brightness (luminance) when the picture data is displayed isincreased or decreased depending on the illuminance acquired as thesurrounding environment. For example, in fair weather, the picture datamay be displayed such that the brightness is enhanced, and in cloudyweather or rainy weather, the picture data may be displayed such thatthe brightness is weakened (decreased).

The same goes for the case where the plurality of shop vehicles 20 movesto each place along the routes R1, R2. The management server 30 selectsthe picture data with a display content for unifying the externalappearances of the shop vehicles 20 during traveling, based on theenvironment information acquired by a sensor such as the camera that ismounted on each shop vehicle 20 or the environment informationidentified based on the position information. For example, when the shopvehicles 20 travel in an urban section, the management server 30 selectsan identical kind of or relevant kinds of picture data with a stylishdisplay content in which a background color is deep blue and a silver,gray or white bird feather or the like is adopted as a motif. When theshop vehicles 20 travel in a mountainous section, the management server30 selects an identical kind of relevant kinds of picture data with amild display content such as a gradation image in which the color toneof the landscape is adopted as a base and an area surrounded by a curveis colored so as to be continuously changed.

For example, the picture data may include picture data with a displaycontent in which letters “MOVABLE MARKET” are adopted as a motif. Forexample, as the picture data, the letters “MOVABLE MARKET” colored on apredetermined background color are displayed. When the plurality of shopvehicles 20 goes round in a row, the picture data with the displaycontent in which the above letters are adopted as a motif may bedisplayed such that the background color and the colors of the lettersare continuously changed in the order from the head. Further, the letterstring “MOVABLE MARKET” may be divided into a plurality of partialparts, for example, into partial data of “MOVABLE”, “MAR” and “KET”, andmay be displayed by a plurality of shop vehicles 20 that goes round in arow, in the order from the head. In this display manner also, thebackground color and the colors of the letters may be continuouslychanged in the order from the head.

Furthermore, in the selection of the display content of the picturedata, the management server 30 may consider attributes of users thatexist in the periphery of the plurality of shop vehicles 20 duringtraveling or the plurality of shop vehicles 20 disposed at thepredetermined place (a1 to a4). For example, by pattern matching or thelike, the management server 30 extracts face images of users that existin the periphery of the shop vehicles 20, from an image photographed bythe cameras mounted on the shop vehicles 20. Then, the management server30 evaluates the number of the extracted face images, that is, thenumber of persons, and estimates age and sex by analyzing the extractedface images. Then, the management server 30 can select the picture datawith a display content corresponding to the number of users that existin the periphery of the shop vehicles 20, the age, the sex and the like.As an example, in the case where the ratio of female users is relativelyhigh, the management server 30 selects an identical kind of or relevantkinds of picture data with a display content in which a small animalsuch as a cat or a dog is adopted as a motif. The estimation of theinformation relevant to attributes such as the age and the sex, whichare attributes of the user who exists in the periphery of the shopvehicles 20, may be performed by each shop vehicle.

Functional Configuration

Next, functional configurations of the center server 10, the shopvehicle 20 and the management server 30 of the display management system1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4to FIG. 11. As described already, the center server 10 is a serverdevice that manages a plurality of vehicles V constituting the movableobject system, and that gives the operation command to the vehicles V,but hereinafter, only the shop vehicle 20 will be described as themanagement object of the center server 10.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configurationof the center server 10. The center server 10 is configured to include acontrol unit 11, a storage unit 12 and a communication unit 13, asfunctional constituent elements. The communication unit 13 is acommunication interface for the network N1. For example, thecommunication unit 13 includes a LAN interface board and a wirelesscommunication circuit for wireless communication.

In the display management system 1, the center server 10 is a serverdevice that manages the autonomous traveling of the plurality of shopvehicles 20, and that generates the operation command to the shopvehicles 20. For example, the center server 10 is a general-purposecomputer that includes a processor, a main storage device and anauxiliary storage device. The processor includes a central processingunit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), a graphics processing unit(GPU), and the like. The main storage device includes a flash memory, arandom access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and the like. Theauxiliary storage device is a non-volatile storage device that stores avariety of programs including an operating system (OS) and a variety ofdata in a recording medium in a readable and writable manner. The OSincludes a communication interface program that performs transfer ofdata with an external device or the like to be connected through thecommunication unit 13. Examples of the auxiliary storage device includea portable recording medium, a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD) anda solid state drive (SSD). For example, the portable recording medium isa universal serial bus (USB) memory, or a disc recording medium such asa compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD) or a Blu-ray® disc.The processor executes a computer program expanded in a workspace of themain storage device in an executable manner, and controls the whole ofthe center server 10. The processor controls peripheral equipment byexecuting the computer program, and thereby, provides functionsappropriate for predetermined purposes as described later. Here, somefunctions may be provided as hardware circuits such as an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array(FPGA), a numerical processor and an image processing processor. Thecenter server 10 may be constituted by a single computer, or may beconstituted by a plurality of computers that cooperates with each other.

The control unit 11 is an information processing function that isprovided by the execution of the computer program by the processor.Through the control unit 11, there is provided an information processingfunction to manage the autonomous traveling of the plurality of shopvehicles 20 and to generate the operation command to be sent to the shopvehicles 20. The control unit 11 includes at least a positioninformation management unit 111 and an operation command generation unit112. A series of processes to be executed in the center server 10 may beexecuted by software, or may be executed by hardware.

The position information management unit 111 collects the positioninformation (for example, latitude and longitude) from the plurality ofshop vehicles 20 under the management by the center server 10, andmanages the position information. The position information managementunit 111 receives the current position information sent from the shopvehicle 20, periodically or in response to a request from the centerserver 10, and stores the position information in a vehicle managementDB 121 constructed in the storage unit 12.

The operation command generation unit 112 generates the operationcommand relevant to the plurality of shop vehicles 20 that provides themovable market. The operation command generation unit 112 generates anoperation command relevant to an operation on a previously decided routein a predetermined region where the movable market is provided, or anoperation command relevant to a periodic assembly at a place where themovable market is disposed, as described in FIG. 3. The operationcommand generation unit 112 acquires the position information about theplurality of shop vehicles 20 that provides the movable market. Then,for example, the operation command generation unit 112 refers to the mapdata stored in the auxiliary storage device or the like, and generatesan operation command to operate on a previously decided route from thecurrent position as a departure spot and to go through each place wherethe movable market is disposed, to the plurality of shop vehicles 20.The operation command includes instructions such as an instruction tostop for a while at the place where the movable market is disposed andan instruction of the disposition position at the place.

The storage unit 12 is configured to include a main storage device andan auxiliary storage device. In the storage unit 12, the vehiclemanagement database (DB) 121 that manages the vehicle informationrelevant to the plurality of shop vehicles 20 that provides the movablemarket is constructed. For example, the vehicle management DB 121 is arelational database for which a program of a database management system(DBMS) to be executed by a processor manages data stored in theauxiliary storage device or the like.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the vehicle information thatis stored in the vehicle management DB 121. As illustrated in FIG. 5,the vehicle information is managed as a vehicle information table. Forinformation that is registered in the vehicle information table, a fieldcan be added, changed or removed when appropriate. In FIG. 5, thevehicle information table has fields of region ID, group ID, assemblyarea ID, vehicle ID, operator ID, base ID, current position, operationstate and assembly form. In the region ID, information (region ID)indicating a region where each shop vehicle 20 provides the service isstored. For example, the region ID is regional mesh information (astandardized regional mesh code, a divided regional mesh code, or thelike). The information to be stored in the region ID may be informationindicating a city, a ward, a town, a village or the like, or may beinformation indicating each of a latitude and longitude identifying theregion where each shop vehicle 20 provides the service.

In the group ID, identification information (group ID) for identifying agroup that includes the plurality of shop vehicles 20 constituting themovable market is stored. In the assembly area ID, information (assemblyarea ID) for identifying the place (area) where the movable market isdisposed is stored. Similarly to the region ID, the assembly area ID maybe regional mesh information, may be an address indicating the place, ormay be information indicating each of a latitude and longitudeidentifying the area where the movable market is disposed. Here, aplurality of pieces of information indicating the place where themovable market is disposed is stored in the assembly area ID. Forexample, in FIG. 5, a market service by a plurality of shop vehicles 20belonging to a group with a group ID “G001” is provided at areas withassembly area IDs “A01, A02, A03, A04” of a region ID “D000A”. Further,a market service by a plurality of shop vehicles 20 identified by agroup ID “G001” is provided at areas with assembly area IDs “A05, A06,A07” of the region ID “D000A”.

In the vehicle ID, identification information (vehicle ID) for uniquelyidentifying the shop vehicle 20 that is managed by the center server 10is stored. For example, the vehicle ID is a vehicle registration number(a number written on a number plate). In the operator ID, identificationinformation (operator ID) for uniquely identifying an operator thatsells the product or provides the labor service in the shop vehicle 20is stored. For example, the operator ID is a business operator code thatis assigned to the operator. In the base ID, information (for example,address, or latitude and longitude) indicating a place that is a basefor the shop vehicle 20 is stored. The shop vehicle 20 departs from abase place identified by the base ID, and returns to the base placeafter the completion of the product sale or the labor service provisionin a region designated by the region ID.

In the current position, the position information (for example, latitudeand longitude) indicating the current position of the shop vehicle 20 isstored. The position information can include identification information(for example, link number) about a road where the shop vehicle 20 ispositioned, identification information (for example, node number) aboutan intersection or the like, address and the like. In the operationstate, status information indicating the state of the shop vehicle 20 isstored. For example, in the case where the shop vehicle 20 is movingalong the route, a status of “in operation” is stored. In the case wherethe movable market is disposed at the place for providing the marketservice and where the movable market is selling the product or isproviding the labor service, a status of “in service” is stored. In thecase where the shop vehicle 20 has stopped the provision of the service,a status of “out of service” or the like is stored. In the assemblyform, information indicating an assembly form at the time of the serviceprovision by the plurality of shop vehicles 20 is stored. Examples ofthe information to be stored in the assembly form include “U-form”,“J-form”, “two-line form”, “circle”, “triangle” and “rectangle”.

Next, the shop vehicle 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 6.FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configurationof the shop vehicle 20. The shop vehicle 20 includes a sensor 21, aposition information acquisition unit 22, a drive unit 23, a controlunit 24, a communication unit 25, a storage unit 26 and a picture outputunit 27, as functional constituent elements. The shop vehicle 20generates a traveling route in accordance with the operation commandacquired from the center server 10, and travels on a road along theroute by an appropriate method for the autonomous traveling, whilesensing the periphery of the shop vehicle 20.

The sensor 21 is an aggregation of sensors mounted on the shop vehicle20, and is means for sensing the state of the shop vehicle 20 and theenvironment in the periphery of the shop vehicle 20 in order to acquirenecessary information for the autonomous traveling. Examples of thesensor 21 for sensing the state of the shop vehicle 20 include anacceleration sensor, a speed sensor, and a magnetic field sensor.Examples of the sensor 21 for sensing the periphery of the shop vehicle20 include a camera (a stereo camera, a visible light camera, aninfrared camera and the like), a laser scanner, a LIDAR (Light Detectionand Ranging, Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), and a radar.Furthermore, examples of the sensor 21 for sensing the environment inthe periphery of the shop vehicle 20 include a thermo-hygro sensor, anilluminance sensor to detect the brightness, a microphone, and a soundpressure sensor to detect a sound level. For example, informationacquired by the sensor 21 is given to the control unit 24, and is usedfor recognizing an obstacle or a traveling lane that exists in theperiphery of the shop vehicle 20. For example, the information detectedby the sensor 21 may include data relevant to a congestion degree in thevicinity of the shop vehicle 20, speeds of surrounding vehicles, or thelike. The data is acquired by road-vehicle communication orinter-vehicle communication.

The position information acquisition unit 22 is means for acquiring thecurrent position of the shop vehicle 20, and is configured to include,for example, a receiver such as a global positioning system (GPS) and aglobal navigation satellite system (GLONASS). Information (for example,latitude and longitude) acquired by the position information acquisitionunit 22 is given to the control unit 24, and for example, is used forthe calculation of the route along which the shop vehicle 20 travels anda process of guidance to the destination. The position informationacquisition unit 22 may detect the moving direction and vehicle speed ofthe shop vehicle 20, with the speed sensor, the acceleration sensor, themagnetic sensor, a gyroscope sensor and the like, and may autonomouslyevaluate the position information about the shop vehicle 20. Theinformation acquired by the position information acquisition unit 22 issent to the center server 10 or management server 30 connected to thenetwork N1, through the communication unit 25, periodically or inresponse to a request from the center server 10 or the management server30.

The drive unit 23 is means for causing the shop vehicle 20 to travel,based on a control command generated by a traveling control unit 243.For example, the drive unit 23 is configured to include a motor fordriving wheels, an inverter, a brake, a steering mechanism and the like.The drive unit 23 appropriately increases or decreases controlledvariables of the motor, the inverter, the brake, the steering and thelike, in accordance with the control command, so that the shop vehicle20 performs the autonomous traveling.

The control unit 24 is a computer that controls the shop vehicle 20based on the information acquired from the sensor 21 and the positioninformation acquisition unit 22. For example, the control unit 24 isconstituted by a microcomputer including a processor such as a CPU. Thecontrol unit 24 causes the processor to read and execute a variety ofprograms and a variety of data that are stored in the storage unit 26,and thereby, provides a variety of processing functions appropriate forpredetermined purposes. The control unit 24 provides at least anoperation plan generation unit 241, a state detection unit 242, thetraveling control unit 243, a surrounding environment detection unit244, a vehicle information sending unit 245 and a picture dataacquisition unit 246, as functional modules. The functional modules thatare provided by the control unit 24 may be realized by hardware, or maybe realized by a plurality of computers that cooperates with each other.

The operation plan generation unit 241 acquires the operation commandfrom the center server 10, and generates an operation plan for the shopvehicle 20. The operation command includes information relevant to adeparture place and destination in an instruction to the shop vehicle20, a route passing through the destination, and the like. Accordingly,the operation plan generation unit 241 generates the operation plan,based on the destination and the route to the destination that are givenfrom the center server 10 and the position of the shop vehicle 20 thatis acquired by the position information acquisition unit 22. Theoperation plan includes the thus generated data relevant to the routealong which the shop vehicle 20 travels and data specifying processesthat should be performed by the shop vehicle 20 on a part or a whole ofthe route. Examples of the data included in the operation plan includethe following (1) and (2).

(1) Data Expressing the Route Along which the Shop Vehicle 20 Travels asan Aggregation of Road Links

For example, by referring to the map data stored in the storage unit 26,the route along which the shop vehicle 20 travels may be automaticallygenerated based on the departure place and destination in theinstruction and the route passing through the destination. The routealong which the shop vehicle 20 travels and that passes through thedestination may be identified by an external device such as the centerserver 10, instead of the shop vehicle 20. The external device such asthe center server 10 may acquire the position information from the shopvehicle 20, and may identify the route along which the shop vehicle 20should travel, in accordance with a planned operation route, and theoperation command may include the data about the route.

(2) Data Expressing Processes that should be Performed by the ShopVehicle 20 at Spots on the Route

The processes that should be performed by the shop vehicle 20 include,for example, a little stop at the place where the movable market isdisposed, and an instruction of a movement to the disposition positionat the place, but are not limited to them. The operation plan generatedby the operation plan generation unit 241 is output to the travelingcontrol unit 243 described later.

The state detection unit 242 detects a peripheral situation necessaryfor the autonomous traveling, based on the data acquired by the sensor21. Objects to be detected include, for example, the number andpositions of lanes, the number and positions of vehicles that exist inthe periphery of the shop vehicle 20, the number and positions ofobstacles (for example, a pedestrian, a bicycle, a structure and abuilding) that exist in the periphery of the shop vehicle 20, thestructure of a road, and a traffic sign, but are not limited to them.Any object may be detected if the object is necessary for the autonomoustraveling. For example, in the case where the sensor 21 is a camera (astereo camera, a visible light camera or an infrared camera) or thelike, a physical object in the periphery of the shop vehicle 20 isdetected by image processing of image data picked up by the sensor 21.

In addition to the detection of the physical object in the periphery ofthe shop vehicle 20, the state detection unit 242 may perform trackingof the detected physical object (may continue to detect the detectedobject). For example, it is possible to evaluate the relative speed ofthe physical object, from the difference between the coordinates of thephysical object detected before one step and the current coordinates ofthe physical object. The data relevant to the peripheral situationdetected by the state detection unit 242 is output to the travelingcontrol unit 243 described later. Direction information that is relevantto the direction of the shop vehicle 20 and that is acquired by thesensor 21 is sent to the center server 10 or management server 30connected to the network N1, through the communication unit 25,periodically or in response to a request from the center server 10 orthe management server 30.

The traveling control unit 243 generates the control command forcontrolling the autonomous traveling, based on the operation plangenerated by the operation plan generation unit 241, the data relevantto the peripheral situation detected by the state detection unit 242,and the position information about the shop vehicle 20 acquired by theposition information acquisition unit 22. For example, the travelingcontrol unit 243 generates the control command, such that the shopvehicle 20 travels along a predetermined route and an obstacle does notenter a predetermined safe area around the shop vehicle 20. Thegenerated control command is output to the drive unit 23. As a methodfor generating the control command for the autonomous traveling, a knownmethod can be employed.

The surrounding environment detection unit 244 detects the environmentsurrounding the position of the shop vehicle 20, based on theinformation acquired from the sensor 21 and the position informationacquisition unit 22. For example, the surrounding environment detectionunit 244 refers to the map data stored in the storage unit 26, andidentifies the information indicating the kind of the place where theshop vehicle 20 is positioned. As the kind of the place, there are theurban section, the residential section, the mountainous section, thecoastal section and the rural section. In the case where the sensor 21includes a camera, by image processing of the image data photographed bythe camera, structures such as a house, trees and the like arerecognized by pattern matching, and the kind of the place where the shopvehicle 20 is positioned is estimated from the ratio of the structures,the trees and the like in the image.

In the case where the sensor 21 includes a microphone or a soundpressure sensor, the degree of silence in the periphery of the shopvehicle 20 is estimated from the measured sound pressure level, andwhether there is a wind sound, a wave sound or a call of an animal suchas a bird, a dog or a cat is estimated from a frequency characteristicof the sound. For example, in the case where the degree of the silencein the periphery of the shop vehicle 20 is relatively low, thesurrounding environment detection unit 244 can estimate that the placewhere the shop vehicle 20 is positioned is an urban section, and in thecase where the degree of the silence is relatively high, the surroundingenvironment detection unit 244 can estimate that the place where theshop vehicle 20 is positioned is a residential section, a mountainoussection or a coastal section. Further, in the case where there are awave sound, a call of a seabird or the like, the surrounding environmentdetection unit 244 can estimate that the place where the shop vehicle 20is positioned is a coastal section, and in the case where there is acall of a dog, a cat or the like, the surrounding environment detectionunit 244 can estimate that the place where the shop vehicle 20 ispositioned is a residential section.

The surrounding environment detection unit 244 may estimate theatmosphere surrounding the shop vehicle 20, based on the traffic volume(people, motorcycles, other vehicles and the like) in the imagephotographed by the camera. Examples of the atmosphere include “lively”,“silent”, “lonely”, “peaceful”, “mildly” and “fresh”. The surroundingenvironment detection unit 244 estimates the atmosphere based on thetraffic volume, for example, depending on a previously decided conditionfor each of the kind of the place, the sound pressure level and thesound characteristic. For example, in the case where the number ofpersons surrounding the shop vehicle is a certain number (10) or more,where the degree of the silence is relatively low and where there are alaughing voice and the like, the surrounding environment detection unit244 estimates that the atmosphere is “lively”.

Furthermore, the surrounding environment detection unit 244 can estimatea weather condition such as fair weather, cloudy weather or rainyweather, from the color tone and brightness of the image data afterimage processing, and can estimate a road surface condition duringtraveling, from the sound pressure level and the frequencycharacteristic of the sound. In addition, in the case where the sensor21 includes a thermo-hygro sensor or an illuminance sensor, thesurrounding environment detection unit 244 identifies a weathercondition such as existence of sunlight, from the air temperature,humidity and illuminance of the periphery of the shop vehicle 20. Forexample, the surrounding environment detection unit 244 estimates ameteorological condition such as “fair; ** degrees (air temperature);**% (humidity)”, as information indicating the environment surroundingthe shop vehicle 20. Further, the surrounding environment detection unit244 estimates the degree (for example, “**%”) of a relative brightnesswhen the maximum detection level of the illuminance sensor is 100%, asinformation indicating the environment surrounding the shop vehicle.Based on the above degree, the surrounding environment detection unit244 may express the information indicating the relative brightness asone of multiple levels. For example, in the case of 70% or higher, anestimation of “bright” is made. In the case of 50% or higher and lowerthan 70%, an estimation of “slightly bright” is made. In the case of 30%or higher and lower than 50%, an estimation of “slightly dark” is made.In the case of lower than 30%, an estimation of “dark” is made.

The information (the kind of the place, the atmosphere, themeteorological condition, the brightness and the like) that indicatesthe surrounding environment and that is detected by the surroundingenvironment detection unit 244 is sent to the management server 30connected to the network N1 through the communication unit 25,periodically or in response to a request from the management server 30.

The surrounding environment detection unit 244 may estimate informationrelevant to attributes of users that exist in the periphery of the shopvehicle 20, as exemplified by attributes such as age and sex, from thecamera picture, and may send the estimated information to the managementserver 30, as user tendency information. For example, as the usertendency information, the surrounding environment detection unit 244 cansend the sex and age group of users that are of the users extracted fromthe camera pictures and that have a high occupation ratio.

The surrounding environment detection unit 244 may give the sensorinformation (the camera image, thermo-hygro data, illuminance data,recorded sound data, noise level and the like) acquired by the sensor21, to the management server 30, in association with hour information,the vehicle ID of the shop vehicle 20 and the group ID of the shopvehicle 20. The management server 30 acquires the sensor informationfrom the shop vehicle 20. Then, based on the sensor information, themanagement server 30 can identify the environment surrounding the placewhere the plurality of shop vehicles 20 designated by the group ID isdisposed.

The vehicle information sending unit 245 sends shop information aboutthe shop vehicle 20 stored in the storage unit 26, to the managementserver 30 connected to the network N1, through the communication unit25, periodically or in response to a request from the management server30. The vehicle information sending unit 245 adds the vehicle ID foruniquely identifying the shop vehicle 20 and the group ID of the shopvehicle 20, to the shop information, and sends the shop information tothe management server 30. As described later, the shop informationincludes shop name, handling product, operator ID, operating hours,vehicle size, capacity, information indicating the picture data that isbeing displayed for configuring the external appearance, and the like.

The picture data acquisition unit 246 acquires the picture data sentfrom the management server 30, through the communication unit 25, andstores the picture data in the storage unit 26. The picture data to besent from the management server 30 includes a moving image, a stillimage, a letter string and the like. Further, the picture data includesinstruction information for instructions of the color tone (color hue),the atmosphere (color scheme), the brightness (luminance and the like)for display, and the like at the time of the display of the picturedata.

The communication unit 25 is communication means for connecting the shopvehicle 20 to the network N1. For example, the communication unit 25includes a LAN interface board and a wireless communication circuit forwireless communication. In the storage unit 26, which includes a mainstorage device and an auxiliary storage unit, information forfunctioning as a shop vehicle is stored. Examples of the information forfunctioning as a shop vehicle include the vehicle ID given to the shopvehicle 20, the group ID of the shop vehicle 20, the shop informationand the map data.

For example, the picture output unit 27 is means for outputting thepicture to the vehicle-outside display devices (reference characters Ato E in FIG. 2) provided on the outer walls of the vehicle body. In theembodiment, the picture data stored in the storage unit 26 is displayedby the vehicle-outside display devices, and configures the externalappearance. The shop vehicle 20 causes the vehicle-outside displaydevice to display the picture data sent from the management server 30,in accordance with the instruction information, and thereby, can set theexternal appearance of the shop vehicle 20 to the display contentcorresponding to the surrounding environment.

Next, the management server 30 will be described with reference to FIG.7. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the functionalconfiguration of the management server 30. The management server 30 isconfigured to include a control unit 31, a storage unit 32 and acommunication unit 33, as functional constituent elements. Thecommunication unit 33 is the same as the communication unit 13 of thecenter server 10, and the description of the communication unit 33 isomitted.

Similarly to the center server 10, the management server 30 is ageneral-purpose computer that includes a processor, a main storagedevice and an auxiliary storage device. The constituent elements of themanagement server 30 are the constituent elements of the center server10, and therefore, the description of the constituent elements of themanagement server 30 is omitted. The management server 30 may beconstituted by a single computer, or may be a system constituted by aplurality of computers, as exemplified by a cloud system. For example,the management server 30 reads an OS, a variety of programs, a varietyof tables and others that are stored in the auxiliary storage device, ina workspace of the main storage device, and executes the programs. Bythe execution of the programs, the management server 30 controls theconstituent units described below, and thereby, provides functionsappropriate for predetermined purposes.

The main storage device and the auxiliary storage device of themanagement server 30 constitute the storage unit 32. In the storage unit32, a shop vehicle management DB 321, an environment information DB 322and a display data management DB 323 are constructed. For example, eachDB is a relational database for which a program of a database managementsystem (DBMS) to be executed by the processor of the management server30 manages data stored in the auxiliary storage device or the like.

The control unit 31 is an information processing function that isprovided by execution of a computer program by the processor of themanagement server 30. The control unit 31 includes at least a vehicleinformation management unit 311 and a display data instruction unit 312,as constituent units. Through the control unit 31, for example, there isprovided an information processing function to decide the displaycontent of the picture data such that the external appearances areunified depending on the environment surrounding the place where aplurality of shop vehicles 20 is disposed in accordance with apredetermined purpose such as the provision of the service by themovable market. A series of processes to be executed in the managementserver 30 may be executed by software, or may be executed by hardware.In the following description, it is assumed that the area surroundingthe place where the plurality of shop vehicles 20 is disposed includesnot only an area surrounding the place where the shop vehicles 20 aredisposed for the predetermined purpose, but also an area surrounding themovement route to the disposition place.

The vehicle information management unit 311 collects and manages theposition information and shop information about the plurality of shopvehicles 20. The position information and shop information about eachshop vehicle are acquired periodically or in response to a request fromthe management server 30. For each group ID, the vehicle informationmanagement unit 311 stores the acquired position information and shopinformation about each shop vehicle, in the shop vehicle management DB321 constructed in the storage unit 32, in association with thecorresponding vehicle ID.

Further, the vehicle information management unit 311 collects andmanages the environment information relevant to the environmentsurrounding the plurality of shop vehicles 20. For example, the vehicleinformation management unit 311 acquires the environment information(the kind of the place, the atmosphere, the meteorological condition,the brightness and the like) detected by the surrounding environmentdetection unit 244 of each shop vehicle. The environment information isacquired from each shop vehicle periodically or in response to a requestfrom the management server 30. For example, the environment informationis acquired together with the hour information when the environmentinformation is detected and the vehicle ID and group ID of the shopvehicle 20 about which the environment information is detected.

For example, the vehicle information management unit 311 collects theenvironment information about the plurality of shop vehicles 20 with anidentical group ID. Then, the vehicle information management unit 311identifies the environment information for each group ID, based on thecollected environment information about each shop vehicle. The vehicleinformation management unit 311 may previously acquire the vehicle IDsof the shop vehicles 20 with an identical group ID, through the centerserver 10.

For example, the vehicle information management unit 311 identifies afrequent state in the environment information acquired from theplurality of shop vehicles 20, as the environment information about thegroup ID. In the case where different states in the environmentinformation have an identical frequency, the vehicle informationmanagement unit 311 identifies the different states as the environmentinformation about the group ID. The vehicle information management unit311 stores the identified environment information for each shop vehicle,in the environment information DB 322 of the storage unit 32, inassociation with the group ID. In the case where the vehicle informationmanagement unit 311 can acquire, from the plurality of shop vehicles 20,the information (user tendency information) relevant to attributes suchas the age and the sex, which are attributes of the user who exists inthe periphery, the vehicle information management unit 311 identifiesthe user tendency information for each group ID, and stores the usertendency information in the environment information DB 322, in the aboveway.

The vehicle information management unit 311 may acquire the sensorinformation (the camera image, thermo-hygro data, illuminance data,recorded sound data, noise level and the like) acquired by the sensor 21of each shop vehicle. The vehicle information management unit 311acquires the sensor information from each shop vehicle, together withthe hour information when the sensor information is acquired in the shopvehicle and the vehicle ID of the shop vehicle. The vehicle informationmanagement unit 311 identifies the environment information (the kind ofthe place, the meteorological condition, the brightness and the like)about the environment surrounding the position of the shop vehicle whenthe sensor information is acquired, by performing the same process asthe process by the surrounding environment detection unit 244 of theshop vehicle 20. The vehicle information management unit 311 stores theenvironment information identified based on the sensor information, inthe environment information DB 322, together with the hour informationwhen the sensor information is acquired and the vehicle ID of the shopvehicle.

The vehicle information management unit 311 can refer to the map datastored in the storage unit 32, and can identify the environmentinformation indicating the kind of the place of each shop vehicle, asexemplified by the urban section or the mountainous section, based onthe position information (for example, latitude and longitude) acquiredfrom each shop vehicle. The map data may be provided from another systemconnected to the network N1, for example, a geographic informationsystem (GIS).

Furthermore, through the network N1, the vehicle information managementunit 311 can acquire the camera picture obtained by photographing thearea surrounding the place where each shop vehicle is disposed, based onthe position information acquired from the shop vehicle. From theacquired camera picture, the vehicle information management unit 311 canestimate the environment information such as the kind of the place, thescene, the weather condition about the place where the plurality of shopvehicles 20 operates or the place where the plurality of shop vehicles20 is disposed. As the kind of the place, there are the urban section,the residential section, the mountainous section, the coastal sectionand the like. Similarly, from the position information, the vehicleinformation management unit 311 can identify the meteorologicalcondition surrounding the place identified by the position information.As the meteorological condition, there are the weather, the airtemperature, the humidity and the like.

The display data instruction unit 312 refers to the display datamanagement DB 323, and selects the picture data with the display contentcorresponding to the acquired environment information. The picture datais sent through the communication unit 33, to the plurality of shopvehicles 20 disposed at the area surrounding the place where theenvironment information is acquired. The plurality of shop vehicles 20receives the picture data sent from the management server 30, anddisplays the picture data on the vehicle-outside display devicesprovided on the respective shop vehicles 20. Thereby, it is possible toconfigure the external appearances that are unified to the displaycontent corresponding to the environment information.

In the case where the display data instruction unit 312 acquires, otherthan the environment information, the information (user tendencyinformation) indicating the attribute tendency of the user who exists inthe periphery of the plurality of shop vehicles 20, the display datainstruction unit 312 may select the picture data with the displaycontent corresponding to the user tendency information. The plurality ofshop vehicles 20 can configure the external appearances that are unifiedto the display content corresponding to the attribute tendency of theuser who exists in the periphery. Details of the process by the displaydata instruction unit 312 will be described later.

Next, the shop vehicle management DB 321, the environment information DB322 and the display data management DB 323, which are constructed in thestorage unit 32, will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing anexample of shop vehicle information that is stored in the shop vehiclemanagement DB 321. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the shop vehicleinformation is managed as a shop vehicle information table for eachgroup ID. For information that is registered in the shop vehicleinformation table, a field can be added, changed or removed whenappropriate.

In FIG. 8, the shop vehicle information table has fields of vehicle ID,shop name, handling product, operator ID, operating hours, vehicle size,capacity, current position, external appearance and assembly form. Inthe information to be stored in the fields of the vehicle ID, theoperator ID, the current position and assembly form is the same as thatin FIG. 5, and therefore, the description of the information to bestored in the fields is omitted. In the shop name, informationindicating a shop name when the market service is provided is stored. Inthe handling product, information indicating a category of a productthat is handled as the sale service in the shop vehicle is stored. Thecategory includes “meats”, “daily sundries”, “seafood” and the like. Thehandling product includes information (for example, the number of atable showing details of the handling product) corresponding to the kind(for example, an eating service, a tea drinking service, or anamusement) of the service that is provided in the shop vehicle. In theoperating hours, information indicating a business start hour andbusiness end hour for the product sale or labor service that is providedin the shop vehicle is stored. In the vehicle size, informationindicating the size (width (W), height (H), depth (D)) of the shopvehicle is stored. In the capacity, information indicating the number ofpersons that can ride on the shop vehicle is stored. In the externalappearance, information indicating the picture data that is beingdisplayed for configuring the external appearance of the shop vehicle isstored.

Assuming that the shop vehicles are disposed and arranged in the U-formshown in FIG. 3, the shop vehicles with vehicle IDs “S101” to “S105” inFIG. 8 correspond to the shop vehicles 20 a to 20 e shown in FIG. 3,respectively. Examples of the picture data to configure the externalappearances of the plurality of shop vehicles 20 that is disposed andarranged in the U-form include a series of five kinds of picture data(external appearances “BBB-1” to “BBB-5”) with a display content inwhich a decoration for a party is adopted as a motif as shown in FIG. 9.The user views the picture data divided into five kinds of partial dataand displayed on the vehicle-outside display devices of the shopvehicles, and thereby, can evoke integrated picture data (BBB) with thedisplay content in which a decoration for a party is adopted as a motif.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the environment informationthat is stored in the environment information DB 322. As illustrated inFIG. 10, the environment information is managed as an environmentinformation table for each group ID. The environment information tableincludes a record for each piece of the hour information when theenvironment information is acquired, and at the top of the table, arecord relevant to the environment information acquired at the latesthour is stored. For information that is registered in the environmentinformation, a field can be added, changed or removed when appropriate.

In FIG. 10, the environment information table has fields of hour,surrounding environment, user tendency, and operation state. Informationto be stored in the operation state field is the same as that in FIG. 5,and therefore, the description of the information to be stored in theoperation state field is omitted. In the hour, the hour information(date and hour) when the environment information is acquired is stored.FIG. 10 is an example of a mode in which the environment information andthe like are acquired at a predetermined interval, for example, at a10-minute interval.

In the surrounding environment, information indicating the environmentsurrounding the place where the plurality of shop vehicles 20 with thegroup ID is disposed is stored. The information indicating theenvironment configures subfields, and in the example of FIG. 10, theenvironment information such as position, kind, meteorologicalcondition, atmosphere and brightness is stored. In the position,information indicating the place where the plurality of shop vehicles 20is disposed is stored. In the example of FIG. 10, the assembly area IDindicating the place (area) where the movable market provided by theplurality of shop vehicles 20 with the group ID is disposed is stored.The information to be stored in the position may be regional meshinformation, or may be the address indicating the place, informationindicating each of a latitude and longitude identifying a range in whichthe plurality of shop vehicle 20 is disposed, or an average value ofposition information (latitude and longitude) acquired from theplurality of shop vehicles 20.

In the kind, information (the urban section, the residential section,the mountainous section, the rural section, the coastal section and thelike) indicating the kind of the area surrounding the place where theplurality of shop vehicles 20 with the group ID is disposed is stored.Similarly, in the meteorological condition, information (the weather,the air temperature, the humidity and the like) indicating themeteorological condition surrounding the place where the plurality ofshop vehicles 20 is disposed is stored. In the atmosphere, informationindicating the atmosphere (“lively”, “silent”, “lonely”, “peaceful”,“mildly”, “fresh” and the like) surrounding the place where theplurality of shop vehicles 20 is disposed is stored. In the brightness,information indicating the brightness surrounding the place where theplurality of shop vehicles 20 is disposed is stored. In the example ofFIG. 10, information indicating the relative brightness that isexpressed as one of four levels of “bright”, “slightly bright”,“slightly dark” and “dark” is stored.

In the user tendency, information indicating the attribute tendency ofthe user existing in the periphery of the plurality of shop vehicles 20with the group ID is stored. In the example of FIG. 10, the attributeinformation such as the age group and sex of users that are of the usersexisting in the periphery of the plurality of shop vehicles 20 and thathave a high occupation ratio is stored in subfields. In the example ofFIG. 10, at a position “A01” as the place where the movable market isdisposed, the ratio of “female” people in their “60”s is high, as theuser tendency in the periphery of the plurality of shop vehicles 20designated by the group ID.

In each field for the surrounding environment and user tendency to bestored in the environment information table, in the case where thecorresponding information is not acquired, information (for example,“---” or a blank) indicating the absence of the information is stored.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of picture information that isstored in the display data management 323. As illustrated in FIG. 11,the picture information is managed as a picture information table. Forinformation that is registered in the picture information, a field canbe added, changed or removed when appropriate.

In FIG. 11, the picture information table has fields of picture ID,display content, color scheme tendency, picture data, partial data andrelevant data. In the picture ID, identification information (pictureID) for uniquely identifying the picture data that is displayed forconfiguring the external appearance of the shop vehicle 20 is stored. Inthe display content, information indicating the display content of thepicture data designated by the picture ID is stored. The display contentis arbitrary reference information for classifying a display theme ofthe external appearance that is configured by the picture data. In thecolor scheme tendency, information indicating the classification of thecolor tone (color hue) and atmosphere (color scheme tendency) in thedisplay of the picture data designated by the picture ID is stored. Inthe picture data, information (for example, data number) indicating thepicture data designated by the picture ID is stored. In the partialdata, information indicating partial data for causing the plurality ofshop vehicles 20 to integrally display the picture data designated bythe picture ID is stored. In the relevant data, information (picture IDand the like) indicating the picture data relevant to the displaycontent of the picture data designated by the picture ID is stored. Ineach of the partial data and the relevant data, a plurality of pieces ofinformation is stored. In each field of the picture information table,in the case where the corresponding information is absent, information(for example, “---” or a blank) indicating the absence of theinformation is stored.

In the example of FIG. 11, the theme of the display content is“decoration for party (ribbon)”, and there are three kinds of pictureIDs of “VA10001A”, “VA10001B” and “VA10001C”, in which the color schemetendency is classified into “cold colors”, “intermediate colors” and“warm colors”. The picture data “BBA”, “BBB” and “BBC” designated by thepicture IDs have five divided partial data pieces “BBA-1 to BBA-5”, fivedivided partial data pieces “BBB-1 to BBB-5” and five divided partialdata pieces “BBC-1 to BBC-5”, respectively. The picture data describedwith use of FIG. 9 is an example of the partial data shown by “BBB-1 toBBB-5”. Here, the picture information may be classified according to theinformation (the urban section, the residential section, the ruralsection, the mountainous section, the coastal section and the like)indicating the kind of the place, and the picture information table mayhave a field for each display content corresponding to the pictureinformation after the classification.

Processing Flow

Next, processes in the display management system 1 according to theembodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 12 to FIG. 17. Theprocesses in FIG. 12 to FIG. 17 are periodically executed by the shopvehicles and the management server 30 that constitute the displaymanagement system 1. FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 show processes that areexecuted in the shop vehicle 20. FIG. 14 and FIG. 17 show processes thatare executed in the management server 30. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showingan example of an acquisition process for the environment information andthe user tendency information that are executed by each control unit 24of the plurality of shop vehicles 20 disposed in accordance with apredetermined purpose such as the service provision by the movablemarket.

Shop Vehicle

In FIG. 12, the shop vehicle 20 acquires the position information (forexample, latitude and longitude) that indicates the current position ofthe shop vehicle 20 and that is acquired through the positioninformation acquisition unit 22 (S1). Further, the shop vehicle 20acquires the sensor information detected by the sensor 21 (S2). The shopvehicle 20 acquires the sensor information for estimating thesurrounding environment of the shop vehicle 20, for example, the cameraimage (photographed image) of the area surrounding the shop vehicle 20,which is an image photographed by the camera, the data indicating thetemperature and humidity surrounding the shop vehicle 20, theilluminance data indicating the brightness, the recorded sound data foridentifying the sound characteristic and the noise level, the soundpressure level, and the like. The shop vehicle 20 temporarily stores theposition information and sensor information acquired in S1 and S2, in apredetermined area of the main storage device, in association with thehour information and the vehicle ID of the shop vehicle 20, andtransfers the position information and the sensor information to theprocess of S3. The shop vehicle 20 may acquire a direction (directioninformation) indicating the orientation of the shop vehicle 20, throughthe magnetic field sensor.

Based on the position information and the sensor information, the shopvehicle 20 detects the environment information (the kind of the place,the atmosphere, the meteorological condition, the brightness and thelike) surrounding the place where the shop vehicle 20 is positioned(S3). For example, the shop vehicle 20 refers to the map data, andidentifies the information indicating the kind of the place, asexemplified by the urban section, the residential section, themountainous section, the coastal section, the rural section, for theplace where the shop vehicle 20 is positioned. Alternatively, forexample, structures such as a house, trees and the like are recognizedby pattern matching or the like, as a result of the image processing ofthe image data photographed by the camera, and the shop vehicle 20estimates the kind of the place where the shop vehicle 20 is positioned,from the ratio of the structures, the trees and the like in the image.The shop vehicle 20 may reflect the frequency characteristic, soundpressure level and others of the recorded sound, in the estimation ofthe kind of the place where the shop vehicle 20 is positioned.

For example, the shop vehicle 20 estimates the atmosphere surroundingthe shop vehicle 20, based on the traffic volume (people, motorcycles,other vehicles and the like) in the image photographed by the camera.Examples of the atmosphere include “lively”, “silent”, “lonely”,“peaceful”, “mildly” and “fresh”. The shop vehicle 20 may reflect thefrequency characteristic (for example, a laughing voice), the soundpressure level (the degree of silence) and the like of the recordedsound, in the estimation of the atmosphere surrounding the shop vehicle20.

Furthermore, for example, the shop vehicle 20 estimates the weathercondition such as fair weather, cloudy weather or rainy weather, fromthe color tone and brightness of the image data after image processing,and estimates the weather condition such as the road surface conditionduring traveling, from the measured sound pressure level and thefrequency characteristic of the sound. The shop vehicle 20 may reflectthe detected air temperature, humidity, illuminance and others, in theestimation of the meteorological condition surrounding the shop vehicle20. For example, the shop vehicle 20 detects the meteorologicalcondition surrounding the shop vehicle 20 that is expressed in a formatof “fair; ** degrees (air temperature); **% (humidity)” or the like. Forexample, the shop vehicle 20 identifies the information indicating therelative brightness surrounding the shop vehicle 20 that is expressed asone of the four levels of “bright”, “slightly bright”, “slightly dark”and “dark”. The shop vehicle 20 temporarily stores the detectedenvironment information indicating the environment surrounding the shopvehicle 20, in a predetermined area of the main storage device, inassociation with the hour information and the vehicle ID of the shopvehicle 20, and transfers the environment information to the process ofS5.

The shop vehicle 20 detects the information (user tendency information)indicating the tendency of attributes (age group and sex) of the userwho exists in the periphery (S4). For example, from the picturephotographed by the camera, the shop vehicle 20 detects the informationrelevant to attributes such as the age and the sex, which are attributesof the user who exists in the periphery of the shop vehicle 20. The shopvehicle 20 temporarily stores the detected user tendency informationabout the user who exists in the periphery of the shop vehicle 20, in apredetermined area of the main storage device, in association with thehour information and the vehicle ID of the shop vehicle 20, andtransfers the user tendency information to the process of S5. In thecase where no user exists in the periphery of the shop vehicle 20,information indicating the absence of the user is transferred to theprocess of the S5.

The shop vehicle 20 sends the detected environment information (the kindof the place, the atmosphere, the meteorological condition, thebrightness and the like) surrounding the shop vehicle 20 and thedetected user tendency information relevant to attributes such as theage group and the sex, which are attributes of the user who exists inthe periphery of the shop vehicle 20, to the management server 30 (S5).The environment information and the user tendency information are sentto the management server 30 connected to the network N1, through thecommunication unit 25, in association with the vehicle ID of the shopvehicle 20, the group ID, the hour information and the positioninformation. After the process of S5, the process in FIG. 12 is ended.

By the above process, in the display management system 1 according tothe embodiment, the management server 30 can acquire the environmentinformation that is relevant to the environment surrounding the shopvehicle 20 and that is detected in the shop vehicle 20, and the usertendency information relevant to attributes of the user who exists inthe periphery of the shop vehicle 20. The environment informationincludes the kind of the place where the shop vehicles are positioned,the atmosphere, the meteorological condition, the brightness and thelike. The user tendency information includes the information relevant toattributes of the user, as exemplified by the age and the sex. Forexample, based on the group ID and the vehicle ID, the management server30 can identify the environment surrounding the place where theplurality of shop vehicles 20 designated by the group ID is disposed,and the tendency of attributes of the user who exists in the periphery.

Next, a picture display process that is executed by the shop vehicle 20according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 13.FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the picture display processthat is executed by each control unit 24 of the plurality of shopvehicles 20. In FIG. 13, the shop vehicle 20 acquires the picture datasent from the management server 30 to the shop vehicle 20, and theinstruction information (for example, the instruction of the brightness)for displaying the picture data (S11). The picture data and theinstruction information are acquired through the communication unit 25,together with the vehicle ID and the group ID of the group of the shopvehicle 20. The identification number for uniquely identifying thepicture data is given to the picture data.

As described later, for example, the picture data is the picture datawith display content selected so as to correspond to the environmentinformation surrounding the place where the plurality of shop vehicles20 with the group ID is disposed. The plurality of shop vehicles 20causes the respective vehicle-outside display devices to display thepicture data, and thereby, can configure a unified external appearancecorresponding to the environment surrounding the place where theplurality of shop vehicles 20 is disposed.

The shop vehicle 20 associates and temporarily stores the acquiredpicture data, the identification number, the instruction information andthe group ID, in a predetermined region of the main storage device. Theshop vehicle 20 records the identification number of the picture data,in a predetermined area of the storage unit 26, as the informationindicating the picture data to configure the external appearance that isbeing displayed (S12). The shop vehicle 20 transfers the acquiredpicture data and instruction information, to the process of S13.

The shop vehicle 20 displays the picture data on the vehicle-outsidedisplay devices (reference characters A to E in FIG. 2) provided on theouter walls and the like of the vehicle body, through the picture outputunit 27, in accordance with the acquired instruction information (S13).On the vehicle-outside display devices of the shop vehicle 20, forexample, the picture data sent from the management server 30 to the shopvehicle 20 is displayed in accordance with the brightness (luminance)designated by the instruction information. After the process of S13, theprocess in FIG. 13 is ended.

By the above process, in the display management system 1 according tothe embodiment, each shop vehicle 20 can acquire the picture data sentfrom the management server 30 to the shop vehicle 20, together with theinstruction information designating the brightness and the like for thedisplay of the picture data. Each shop vehicle 20 causes thevehicle-outside display devices of the shop vehicle 20 to display thepicture data, in accordance with the brightness (luminance) designatedby the instruction information. In the display management system 1according to the embodiment, for example, the plurality of shop vehicles20 disposed at an area surrounding a predetermined place for apredetermined purpose such as the service provision by the movablemarket can display the picture data with the display content selected soas to configure a unified external appearance.

Management Server

Next, a process that is executed by the management server 30 accordingto the embodiment will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing anexample of an acquisition process for the environment information andthe user tendency information that is executed by the management server30. By the process in FIG. 14, the environment information and usertendency information described with use of FIG. 10, that is, theenvironment information and user tendency information about the areasurrounding the place where the plurality of shop vehicles 20 isdisposed, are collected for each group ID.

In FIG. 14, the management server 30 acquires the environmentinformation (the kind of the place, the atmosphere, the meteorologicalcondition, the brightness and the like), from the plurality of shopvehicles 20 with an identical group ID (S21). Similarly, the managementserver 30 acquires the user tendency information (the age group, the sexand the like), from the plurality of shop vehicles 20 with an identicalgroup ID (S22). For example, the acquired environment information anduser tendency information are temporarily stored in a predetermined areaof the main storage device constituting the storage unit 32, inassociation with the corresponding vehicle ID and the group ID. Themanagement server 30 transfers the environment information and usertendency information for each vehicle ID, to the processes of S23 andS24. In the process of S22, in the case where no user exists in theperiphery of the shop vehicle 20, the management server 30 transfersinformation indicating the absence of the user, to the process of S24,in association with the vehicle ID of the shop vehicle 20.

The management server 30 identifies the environment information for eachgroup ID (S23). For example, the management server 30 identifies arelatively frequent state in the environment information acquired fromthe plurality of shop vehicles 20 with an identical group ID, as theenvironment information for the group ID. In the case where there is aplurality of frequent states, the management server 30 identifies theplurality of different states as the environment information for thegroup ID. The management server 30 transfers the identified environmentinformation for each group ID, to the process of S26, together with thegroup ID.

Similarly to the process of S23, the management server 30 identifies theuser tendency information for each group ID (S24). In the process ofS24, the management server 30 identifies the user tendency informationfor each group ID, for the shop vehicle 20 around which the user exists.The management server 30 transfers the identified user tendencyinformation for each group ID, to the process of S26, together with thegroup ID.

The management server 30 acquires the operation state corresponding tothe group ID that is the processing object (S25). For example, themanagement server 30 accesses the center server 10 connected to thenetwork N1, and acquires the operation state of each shop vehicle withthe group ID. The management server 30 transfers the acquired operationstate for the group ID, to the process of S26.

The management server 30 records the environment information, usertendency information and operation state for each group ID, in theenvironment information DB 322 constructed in the storage unit 32 (S26).The environment information table for each group ID is stored in theenvironment information DB 322. After the process of S26, the process inFIG. 14 is ended.

By the above process, in the display management system 1 according tothe embodiment, the management server 30 can collect the environmentinformation and user tendency information acquired from each shopvehicle designated by the group ID, and can generate the environmentinformation table corresponding to the group ID. The generatedenvironment information table is stored in the environment informationDB 322, together with the operation state (“in motion”, “in service”,and the like) of each shop vehicle designated by the group ID. In theenvironment information DB 322, the management server 30 can manage theenvironment information surrounding the place where the shop vehiclesfor each group ID are disposed, the attribute tendency of the user whoexists in the periphery of the vehicle, and the operation state.

Next, FIG. 15 will be described. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing anexample of a selection process for the display content of the picturedata. The selection process is executed by the management server 30. Theprocess in FIG. 15 is executed for each group ID. By the process in FIG.15, for the plurality of shop vehicles 20 with the group ID, the picturedata with the display content corresponding to the environmentsurrounding the place where the shop vehicles 20 are disposed isselected.

In FIG. 15, the management server 30 acquires the environmentinformation relevant to the group ID that is the processing object(S31). For example, the management server 30 refers to the environmentinformation DB 322, and identifies and acquires the environmentinformation table corresponding to the group ID that is the processingobject. The management server 30 temporarily stores the acquiredenvironment information table corresponding to the group ID, in apredetermined area of the main storage device, and transitions to theprocess of S32.

The management server 30 refers to the display data management DB 323,and determines whether there is unprocessed picture information in thepicture information stored in the display data management DB 323 (S32).In the case where there is no unprocessed picture information (S32,“No”), the management server 30 determines that the picture informationthat is the object of the selection process does not exists in thedisplay data management DB 323, and ends the process in FIG. 15. On theother hand, in the case where there is unprocessed picture information(S32, “Yes”), the management server 30 transitions to the process ofS33.

The management server 30 refers to the display data management DB 323,and acquires the picture information that is the processing object(S33). The picture information that is the processing object and that isdesignated by the picture ID is extracted from the display datamanagement DB 323. The management server 30 temporarily stores theextracted picture information in a predetermined area of the mainstorage device, and transitions to the process of S34.

In the process of S34, the management server 30 determines whether thepicture information that is the processing object corresponds to theenvironment surrounding the place where the shop vehicles 20 with thegroup ID are disposed. For example, the management server 30 identifiesthe information (the urban section, the residential section, the ruralsection, the mountainous section, the coastal section and the like)indicating the kind of the place where the shop vehicles with the groupID are disposed. Then, the management server 30 determines whether thetheme stored in the display content field in the picture information isrelated to the kind of the place. For example, in the case where thekind of the place is the “residential section”, the management server 30determines that the picture information with a display content in whichplay equipment provided in a park, a decoration for a party, or the likeis adopted as a motif is related to the kind of the place. For example,in the case of the urban section, the management server 30 determinesthat the picture information with a display content in which a tree, afountain or the like is adopted as a motif and healing at an oasis orthe like is evoked is related to the kind of the place. For example, inthe case of the mountainous section, the management server 30 determinesthat the picture information with a display content in which the colortone of the acquired landscape is adopted as a base, or with a displaycontent in which a festival, an illustrated story or the likecorresponding to the season is adopted as a motif is related to the kindof the place. For example, in the case of the coastal section, themanagement server 30 determines that the picture information with adisplay content in which the sea, a sandy beach, a cloud floating in thefine sky, a seabird or the like is adopted as a motif and freshness isevoked is related to the kind of the place. In the above determination,the management server 30 may consider the hour information (date, hourand the like) at the time when the environment information is acquired.

Furthermore, the management server 30 may narrow down the color schemetendency, from the atmosphere, the meteorological condition, thebrightness and the like that are acquired as the environmentinformation. For example, in an environment in which the atmosphere is“silent” or “lonely” and the brightness in “rainy weather” or “cloudyweather” is “slightly dark”, the management server 30 narrows down thepicture information to “intermediate colors” in which silver, gray orthe like is adopted as a base and “cold colors” in which blue, white orthe like is adopted as a base. In an environment in which the atmosphereis “silent” or “mildly” and the brightness in “fair weather” is “bright”or “slightly bright”, the management server 30 narrows down the pictureinformation to “warm colors” in which orange or brown is adopted as abase. The color scheme tendency may be included in the instructioninformation. In the example of FIG. 11, in the case where the picturedata “BBB” with the color scheme tendency of warm colors is beingdisplayed as the picture data that configures the external appearance,it is possible to switch the color tone (color hue) or the atmosphere(color scheme) that configures the external appearance to be displayed,by adding the designation of the color scheme tendency of cold colors orintermediate colors, in the instruction information. The shop vehiclesto display the picture data can switch the external appearance to thecolor tone or atmosphere corresponding to the change in the environmentinformation.

Furthermore, the management server 30 may perform machine learning ofthe acquired environment information, and may use a discriminatorobtained as a result of the machine learning, as a criterion forselecting the related picture information. For example, in the casewhere the kind of the place is the “urban section”, the managementserver 30 may use a discriminator that calculates the degree of the“urban section”, and may determine that the display content or the colorscheme tendency in the picture information corresponds to theenvironment information if the output of the discriminator is athreshold (for example, 0.9) or more.

In the process of S34, the management server 30 may reflect theoperation state of the plurality of shop vehicles 20 designated by thegroup ID. For example, in the case where the operation state of theplurality of shop vehicles 20 with the group ID is “in operation”, themanagement server 30 can determine that the plurality of shop vehicles20 is traveling along a predetermined route as described in FIG. 3. Forexample, in the case where the picture information that is theprocessing object has a display content configured by a particularmarking (pattern) such as a checkered pattern, the management server 30determines that the picture information can configure the externalappearance of the plurality of shop vehicles 20 during traveling. Then,in the picture photographed by the camera or the like, the managementserver 30 may identify a color element having a high ratio in the image,and may perform coloring of the marking of the above display content,using a color corresponding to the color element. For example, at themountainous section or rural section in the autumn season, themanagement server 30 can display the picture data having a warm colortone with orange, brown or the like corresponding to red leaves in theperiphery.

For example, in the case where the operation service is “in service”,the management server 30 can determine that the plurality of shopvehicles 20 with the group ID has been disposed at a previouslypermitted area. For example, in the case where the picture informationthat is the processing object has a display content with informationabout the partial data or the relevant data, the management server 30can determine that the partial data or the relevant data is included inthe picture information corresponding to the environment informationsurrounding the place where the plurality of shop vehicles 20 isdisposed. For example, from the vehicle information table described withuse of FIG. 5, the management server 30 acquires the information (thearrangement form of the disposed shop vehicles 20) stored in the vehiclesize, the capacity and the assembly form. Then, based on the vehiclesize, the capacity, the arrangement form and the number of the shopvehicles 20, the management server 30 can select the partial data orrelevant data of the display content, such that an integrated externalappearance or a series of related external appearances is configured. Inthe case where the partial data or the relevant data is selected, thevehicle ID of a shop vehicle 20 that displays the partial data or therelevant data is designated.

In the case where the management server 30 determines that the pictureinformation that is the processing object corresponds to the environmentsurrounding the place where the shop vehicles with the group ID aredisposed (S34, “Yes”), the management server 30 transitions to theprocess of S35. On the other hand, in the case where the managementserver 30 determines that the picture information that is the processingobject does not correspond to the environment surrounding the placewhere the shop vehicles with the group ID are disposed (S34, “No”), themanagement server 30 transitions to the process of S32.

In the process of S35, the management server 30 records the pictureinformation that is the processing object. The management server 30associates and records the picture information (the picture ID, theidentification number of the picture data) that is the processingobject, the group ID, and the hour information when the environmentinformation is acquired, in a predetermined area of the main storagedevice. In the case where the partial data or the relevant data isincluded, the vehicle ID of a shop vehicle 20 that displays the partialdata or the relevant data is recorded in association with theidentification number indicating the partial data or the relevant data.

In the process of S36, the management server 30 determines whether thereis unprocessed picture information, again. The management server 30refers to the display data management DB 323. Then, in the case wherethere is unprocessed picture information (S36, “Yes”), the managementserver 30 transitions to the process of S33, and in the case where thereis no unprocessed picture information (S36, “No”), the management server30 ends the process in FIG. 15.

By the above process, the management server 30 according to theembodiment can select the picture information (the picture ID, theidentification number of the picture data, and the like) with thedisplay content corresponding to the environment surrounding the placewhere the plurality of shop vehicles 20 is disposed. The managementserver 30 can decide the display content of the picture information toconfigure the external appearance, depending on the kind of the placesurrounding the place where the plurality of shop vehicles 20 isdisposed, the atmosphere, the meteorological condition, the brightness,the hour information (date, hour and the like) when the environmentinformation is acquired, and the like. Further, the management server 30can reflect the operation state (“in operation”, “in service” or thelike) of the plurality of shop vehicles 20, in the decision of thedisplay content of the picture information.

The picture information that is the display object may be a single kindof picture data to configure each external appearance of the pluralityof shop vehicles 20, or may be picture data configured such that theplurality of shop vehicles 20 keeps an integrated external appearance.Further, the picture information may be picture data configured suchthat each of the plurality of shop vehicles 20 displays related picturedata in line with a certain theme and the plurality of shop vehicles 20keeps a wholly unified external appearance with the theme. In the casewhere the partial data or the relevant picture data is selected as thepicture information that is the display object, the vehicle ID of a shopvehicle 20 that displays the partial data or the relevant picture datais designated. The management server 30 according to the embodiment candecide the picture information with the display content configured tokeep a unified external appearance of the plurality of shop vehicles 20disposed at an area surrounding a predetermined place.

Next, FIG. 16 will be described. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing anexample of a selection process for the display content of the picturedata that corresponds to the user tendency information. The process inFIG. 16 is executed for each group ID. By the process in FIG. 16, forthe plurality of shop vehicles 20 with the group ID, the picture datawith the display content corresponding to the tendency of attributes(the age and the sex) about the user who exists in the periphery of theplace where the shop vehicles are disposed is selected.

In FIG. 16, the management server 30 determines whether there is theuser tendency information for the group ID that is the processing object(S41). The management server 30 refers to the environment information DB322, and determines whether there is the information indicating userattributes stored in the user tendency field, in the environmentinformation table corresponding to the group ID that is the processingobject. In the case where there is the information indicating userattributes in the user tendency field (S41, “Yes”), the managementserver 30 acquires the information indicating user attributes stored inthe user tendency field (S42). The management server 30 temporarilystores the acquired information indicating user attributes, in apredetermined area of the main storage device, in association with thegroup ID, and transitions to the process of S43. On the other hand, inthe case where there is no information indicating user attributes in theuser tendency field (S41, “No”), the management server 30 ends theprocess in FIG. 16.

In the process of S43, the management server 30 determines whether thereis unprocessed picture information in the display data management DB323. The process of S43 is the same as the process of S32 in FIG. 15,and therefore, the description of the process of S43 is omitted. In thecase where there is no unprocessed picture information (S43, “No”), themanagement server 30 ends the process in FIG. 15, and in the case wherethere is unprocessed picture information (S43, “Yes”), the managementserver 30 transitions to the process of S44.

In the process of S43, the management server 30 may perform theprocessing determination, for the picture information that is selectedby the process in FIG. 15 and that has the display content correspondingto the environment surrounding the place where the plurality of shopvehicles 20 is disposed. By adopting the picture information with thedisplay content selected by the process in FIG. 15 as the determinationobject, the management server 30 can reflect, in the display content,the attribute tendency of the user who exists in the periphery of theplurality of shop vehicles 20, in addition to the environmentsurrounding the place where the plurality of shop vehicles 20 isdisposed.

The management server 30 acquires the picture information that is theprocessing object (S44). The picture information that is the processingobject is extracted from the display data management DB 323 or from thepicture information selected by the process in FIG. 15. The managementserver 30 temporarily stores the extracted picture information in apredetermined area of the main storage device, and transitions to theprocess of S45.

In the process of S45, the management server 30 determines whether thepicture information that is the processing object corresponds to theattribute tendency (an age group, a sex and the like having high ratios)of the user who exists in the periphery of the plurality of shopvehicles 20. For example, in the case where the ratio of female peoplein their 60s to 70s is high as the attribute tendency of the user, themanagement server 30 determines that the picture information with adisplay content in which a festival corresponding to the season or asmall animal such as a cat or a dog is adopted as a motif and a livelyatmosphere or healing is evoked is the picture information correspondingto attributes of the user. The management server 30 may perform machinelearning of the information indicating the user tendency, and may use adiscriminator obtained as a result of the machine learning, as acriterion for selecting the picture information relevant to the usertendency. For example, suppose that the ratio of female people in their30s to 50s is high. The management server 30 may use a discriminatorthat calculates the degree of relevance to “female people in their 30sto 50s”, and may determine that the display content or color schemetendency relevant to the picture information corresponds to theinformation indicating the user tendency if the output of thediscriminator is a threshold (for example, 0.9) or more.

In the case where the management server 30 determines that the pictureinformation that is the processing object corresponds to the usertendency of the user who exists in the periphery of the disposed shopvehicles (S45, “Yes”), the management server 30 transitions to theprocess of S46. On the other hand, in the case where the managementserver 30 determines that the picture information that is the processingobject does not correspond to the attribute tendency of the user whoexists in the periphery of the disposed shop vehicles (S45, “No”), themanagement server 30 transitions to the process of S43.

In the process of S46, the management server 30 records the pictureinformation that is the processing object. The management server 30associates and records the picture information (the picture ID and theidentification number of the picture data) that is the processingobject, the group ID, and the hour information when the environmentinformation is acquired, in a predetermined area of the main storagedevice. Then, the management server 30 transitions to the process ofS47, and determines whether there is unprocessed picture information inthe display data management DB 323 or in the picture informationselected by the process in FIG. 15. In the case where there isunprocessed picture information in the display data management DB 323 orin the selected picture information (S47, “Yes”), the management server30 transitions to the process of S44, and in the case where there is nounprocessed picture information (S47, “No”), the management server 30ends the process in FIG. 16.

By the above process, for the plurality of shop vehicles 20 with thegroup ID, the management server 30 according to the embodiment canselect the picture information (the picture ID, the identificationnumber of the picture data, and the like) with the display contentcorresponding to the tendency of attributes (the age and the sex) aboutthe user who exists in the periphery of the area where the shop vehicles20 are disposed. By adopting the picture information with the displaycontent selected by the process in FIG. 15 as the determination object,the management server 30 can reflect, in the display content, theattribute tendency of the user who exists in the periphery of theplurality of shop vehicles 20, in addition to the environmentsurrounding the place where the plurality of shop vehicles 20 isdisposed.

Next, FIG. 17 will be described. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing anexample of a sending process for the picture data with the selecteddisplay content. The process in FIG. 17 is executed for each group ID.By the process in FIG. 17, the picture data with the display contentcorresponding to the environment surrounding the place where theplurality of shop vehicles 20 with the group ID is disposed and thetendency of attributes (the age and the sex) of the user who exists inthe periphery is sent to the plurality of shop vehicles 20 with thegroup ID.

In FIG. 17, the management server 30 acquires the picture data and theidentification number in the picture information selected by theprocesses in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 (S51). Further, the management server30 refers to the environment information DB 322, and acquires theinformation indicating the brightness of the surrounding environment, inthe environment information table corresponding to the group ID that isthe processing object (S52). Then, the management server 30 sets thebrightness (luminance) for the display of the picture data, based on theacquired brightness of the surrounding environment (S53).

For example, the management server 30 sets the degree (for example,“**%”) of a relative brightness when the maximum luminance of thevehicle-outside display device of each shop vehicle is 100%. Forexample, in the case where the brightness of the surrounding environmentis “slightly dark”, the management server 30 sets the brightness(luminance) for the display of the picture data to “50%”, and in thecase where the brightness of the surrounding environment is “slightlybright” or “bright”, the management server 30 sets the brightness(luminance) for the display of the picture data to “70%”. In theinstruction of the luminance, the management server 30 may reflect thekind of the place, the meteorological condition, the atmosphere and theuser tendency information. The management server 30 transfers theinstruction information about the set luminance of the picture data, tothe process of S54.

In the process of S54, to the plurality of shop vehicles 20 with thegroup ID, the management server 30 sends the picture data selected basedon the surrounding environment, the attribute tendency of the user andthe like, together with the instruction information designating thebrightness (luminance) for display. The picture data includes thepicture ID in the picture information and the identification numbergiven to the picture data. The picture data may include a data source(for example, a universal resource locator (URL)) of the picture data.After the process of S54, the process in FIG. 17 is ended.

By the above process, the management server 30 according to theembodiment can designate the luminance (instruction information)corresponding to the environment surrounding the place where theplurality of shop vehicles 20 is disposed, and can send the pictureinformation (the picture ID, the identification number of the picturedata, and the like) with the selected display content, to the shopvehicles. The shop vehicles with the group ID can acquire the picturedata sent from the management server 30, together with the instructioninformation, and can display the picture data in accordance with theinstruction information.

First Modification

In the first embodiment, the management server 30 acquires theinformation relevant to the environment information and the attributetendency of the user, and the like, from the plurality of shop vehicles20 disposed at an area surrounding a predetermined place. In a firstmodification, for example, the management server 30 selects a shopvehicle 20 (hereinafter, also referred to as a leader vehicle) that is aleader, from the plurality of shop vehicles 20 designated by the groupID.

For example, in the case where the plurality of shop vehicles (20 a to20 e) disposed in a predetermined place is arranged in a U-form as shownin the broken-line balloon in FIG. 3, the shop vehicle 20 c arranged atthe center may be selected as the leader vehicle. In the case where theplurality of shop vehicles is traveling along the route in a row, theshop vehicle 20 at the head may be selected as the leader vehicle. Theleader vehicle may be designated in view of the total number of shopvehicles 20 disposed at a predetermined place, the size of a shopvehicle 20 (for example, a shop vehicle 20 having a relatively largesize), the type of the handling product, and the like. Thus, the leadervehicle can be previously selected in consideration of the arrangementform during service provision, the traveling form during traveling, thetotal number of shop vehicles 20 disposed in a predetermined area, thesize of a shop vehicle 20, the handling product, and the like.

The management server 30 selects the picture data with the displaycontent to configure a unified external appearance of the plurality ofshop vehicles 20, based on the environment information, the informationrelevant to the attribute tendency of the user, and the like, which areacquired through the leader vehicle. In the first modification, it ispossible to control the shop vehicles with the group ID, so as to keep aunified external appearance, based on the picture data with a displaycontent corresponding to the environment surrounding the place where theleader vehicle is positioned and attributes of the user who exists inthe periphery of the leader vehicle. In the first modification, it ispossible to reduce a processing load for communication between themanagement server 30 and the shop vehicles.

Second Modification

The leader vehicle of the plurality of shop vehicles 20 may beconfigured to have the function of the management server 30. FIG. 18 isa diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a displaymanagement system 1 according to a second modification. As shown in FIG.18, the display management system 1 in the second modification isconstituted by a center server 10 that is mutually connected through thenetwork N1, and a plurality of shop vehicles (20 a to 20 n) including aleader vehicle (for example, the shop vehicle 20 a). The functionalconfiguration of the center server 10 and the functional configurationof the shop vehicles 20 other than the leader vehicle are the same asthose in the first embodiment. The second modification is different fromthe first embodiment, in that the leader vehicle is included in theplurality of shop vehicles (20 a to 20 n) and the management server 30is not included. The differences from the first embodiment will bemainly described below. Similarly to the first modification, the leadervehicle is previously designated based on the arrangement form, thetraveling form, the number of disposed shop vehicles 20, and the like.

In the second modification, the shop vehicle 20 that functions as theleader vehicle manages the picture data with display content that isdisplayed by the vehicle-outside display devices such that the pluralityof shop vehicles 20 keeps a unified external appearance. Further,similarly to the management server 30 in the first embodiment, theleader vehicle acquires the environment information relevant to theenvironment surrounding the place where the plurality of shop vehicles20 is disposed and the information (user tendency information) relevantto attributes of the user who exists in the periphery. Similarly to themanagement server 30 in the first embodiment, the shop vehicle 20 thatfunctions as the leader vehicle selects the picture data with thedisplay content corresponding to the environment information and theuser tendency information, and instructs the vehicle-outside displaydevices of the shop vehicles to display the selected picture data.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration ofthe shop vehicle 20 that functions as the leader vehicle in the secondmodification. As illustrated in FIG. 19, the shop vehicle 20 thatfunctions as the leader vehicle includes a sensor 21, a positioninformation acquisition unit 22, a drive unit 23, a control unit 24, acommunication unit 25, a storage unit 26 and a picture output unit 27,as functional constituent elements. In addition to the functionalmodules shown in the first embodiment, the shop vehicle 20 thatfunctions as the leader vehicle in the second modification includes avehicle information management unit 247 and a display data instructionunit 248 in the control unit 24, as functional modules. Further, theleader vehicle in the second modification includes a shop vehiclemanagement DB 261, an environment information DB 262 and a display datamanagement DB 263 in the storage unit 26.

The vehicle information management unit 247 and the display datainstruction unit 248, which are functional modules, correspond to thevehicle information management unit 311 and the display data instructionunit 312 of the management server 30 in the first embodiment,respectively. Further, the shop vehicle management DB 261, theenvironment information DB 262 and the display data management DB 263constructed in the storage unit 26 correspond to the shop vehiclemanagement DB 321, the environment information DB 322 and the displaydata management DB 323 constructed in the storage unit 32 of themanagement server 30 in the first embodiment, respectively.

The shop vehicle 20 that functions as the leader vehicle in the secondmodification executes the processes described in FIG. 12 to FIG. 17.Thereby, in the second modification, the picture information (thepicture ID, the identification number of the picture data, and the like)acquired through the leader vehicle, that is, the picture informationwith the display content corresponding to the environment surroundingthe place where the shop vehicles are disposed and the attributeinformation about the user who exists in the periphery is selected.Then, the leader vehicle in the second modification sends the selectedpicture data to the shop vehicles, through the network N1 orinter-vehicle communication, together with the instruction informationdesignating the brightness for display, and the like. Based on theinformation sent from the leader vehicle, each shop vehicle causes thevehicle-outside display device of the shop vehicle to display thepicture data in accordance with the brightness (luminance) designated bythe instruction information. In the second modification also, it ispossible to configure a unified external appearance, based on thepicture data with the display content corresponding to the environmentsurrounding the place where the plurality of shop vehicles 20 isdisposed and the attribute tendency of the user in the periphery.

The display management system 1 according to the second modification canprovide the technology for keeping a unified external appearance of theplurality of shop vehicles 20 disposed at an area surrounding apredetermined place, in a configuration in which the management server30 in the first embodiment is not included.

Third Modification

In the first embodiment, the first modification and the secondmodification, for the plurality of shop vehicles 20 that sells theproduct or provides the labor service, the technology for keeping aunified external appearance based on the picture data with the displaycontent corresponding to the environment surrounding the place where theplurality of shop vehicles 20 is disposed and the attribute tendency ofthe user has been described. The technology in the disclosure can beapplied to other movable objects including a display unit(vehicle-outside display device) that can display the picture data forconfiguring the external appearance. For example, the technology in thedisclosure can be applied when a plurality of movable objects thatprovides a logistics service and that can perform the autonomoustraveling travels along a predetermined route in a row or assembles at adistribution center or the like. Similarly, the technology in thedisclosure can be applied to a sightseeing tour using a plurality ofmovable objects that provides a movement service to utilizing persons.The plurality of movable objects that provides the above service canunify the external appearances of the movable objects, based on thepicture data with the display content corresponding to information aboutthe environment surrounding an area where the movable objects travel oran area where the movable objects assemble and the attribute tendency ofthe user.

Other Embodiment

Each of the above embodiments is just an example, and the disclosure forthe embodiments can be carried out, while being appropriately modifiedwithout departing from the spirit. The processes and means described inthe disclosure can be arbitrarily combined to be carried out, as long astechnical consistency is kept.

A process described as a process that is executed by one device may beexecuted by a plurality of devices in cooperation. Further, processesdescribed as processes that are executed by different devices may beexecuted by one device. In the computer system, the hardwareconfiguration (server configuration) that realizes each function can beflexibly changed.

A program that realizes one of the above functions with an informationprocessing device or another machine or device (hereinafter, referred toas a computer or the like) can be recorded in a recording medium thatcan be read by the computer or the like. Further, the computer or thelike reads and executes the program in the recording medium, andthereby, can provide the function.

Here, the recording medium that can be read by the computer or the likemeans a recording medium that can accumulate information such as dataand programs by an electrical, magnetic, optical, mechanical or chemicalaction and that can be read by the computer or the like. Among suchrecording media, examples of a recording medium that can be detachedfrom the computer or the like include a flexible disk, a magneticoptical disc, a CD-ROM, a CD-R/W, a DVD, a Blu-ray disc, a DAT, a 8-mmtape, and a memory card such as a flash memory. Further, examples of arecording medium fixed in the computer or the like include a hard diskand a ROM.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing device comprising a control unit that executes: acquiring information indicating an environment surrounding a place where a plurality of movable objects is disposed, the plurality of movable objects including display units that display a picture to configure an external appearance, wherein the information indicating the environment includes landscape information identifying a motif and at least one color tone of a surrounding landscape; deciding a display content of the picture to be displayed by the display units included in the plurality of movable objects, depending on the information indicating the environment surrounding the place, wherein the display content of the picture includes at least one of a designation of a color tone of the picture and a designation of a brightness when the picture is displayed; and giving an instruction to cause the display units of the plurality of moveable objects at an area surrounding the place to change from a previously displayed picture to the picture having the decided display content including the motif and the at least one color tone of the surrounding landscape, so that the plurality of moveable objects have an external appearance that is unified and complementary to an appearance of the surrounding landscape.
 2. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the information indicating the environment surrounding the place includes at least one of information indicating a kind of the place where the plurality of movable objects is disposed, information indicating a scene surrounding the place, information indicating a meteorological condition, and information indicating a brightness surrounding the place.
 3. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit acquires the information indicating the environment surrounding the place, based on sensor information that is detected by sensors respectively included in the plurality of movable objects.
 4. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit executes identifying the place where the plurality of movable objects is disposed, from position information indicating respective positions of the plurality of movable objects, and acquiring the information indicating the environment surrounding the place, based on the identified place.
 5. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the display content of the picture further includes at least one of a designation of a content to be displayed by the picture, and a designation of a display configuration of the picture when the picture is displayed.
 6. The information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit further executes: acquiring attribute information indicating an attribute of a utilizing person that exists in a periphery of the plurality of movable objects; and deciding the display content of the picture to be displayed by the display units included in the plurality of movable objects, depending on the attribute information.
 7. An information processing method comprising: acquiring information indicating an environment surrounding a place where a plurality of movable objects is disposed, the plurality of movable objects including display units that display a picture to configure an external appearance, wherein the information indicating the environment includes landscape information identifying a motif and at least one color tone of a surrounding landscape; deciding a display content of the picture to be displayed by the display units included in the plurality of movable objects, depending on the information indicating the environment surrounding the place, wherein the display content of the picture includes at least one of a designation of a color tone of the picture and a designation of a brightness when the picture is displayed; and giving an instruction to cause the display units of the plurality of moveable objects at an area surrounding the place to change from a previously displayed picture to the picture having the decided display content including the motif and the at least one color tone of the surrounding landscape, so that the plurality of moveable objects have an external appearance that is unified and complementary to an appearance of the surrounding landscape.
 8. A non-transitory program that causes a computer to execute: acquiring information indicating an environment surrounding a place where a plurality of movable objects is disposed, the plurality of movable objects including display units that display a picture to configure an external appearance, wherein the information indicating the environment includes landscape information identifying a motif and at least one color tone of a surrounding landscape; deciding a display content of the picture to be displayed by the display units included in the plurality of movable objects, depending on the information indicating the environment surrounding the place, wherein the display content of the picture includes at least one of a designation of a color tone of the picture and a designation of a brightness when the picture is displayed; and giving an instruction to cause the display units of the plurality of moveable objects at an area surrounding the place to change from a previously displayed picture to the picture having the decided display content including the motif and the at least one color tone of the surrounding landscape, so that the plurality of moveable objects have an external appearance that is unified and complementary to an appearance of the surrounding landscape. 